Clearing Permit Decision Report 1. Application details 1.1. Permit application details Permit application No.: 4607/1 Permit type: Purpose Permit 1.2. Proponent details Proponent’s name: Origin Energy Resources Limited 1.3. Property details Property: Production Licence L11 Local Government Area: Shire of Irwin Colloquial name: Beharra Springs Gas Production Facility 1.4. Application Clearing Area (ha) No. Trees Method of Clearing For the purpose of: 2.2 Mechanical Removal Petroleum Production and Associated Infrastructure 1.5. Decision on application Decision on Permit Application: Grant Decision Date: 17 November 2011 2. Site Information 2.1. Existing environment and information 2.1.1. Description of the native vegetation under application Vegetation Description Clearing Description Vegetation Condition Comment Beard vegetation associations have been Origin Energy Resources Limited Good: Structure The vegetation condition mapped for the whole of Western Australia. (Origin) has applied to clear up to 2.5 significantly altered by was assessed by One Beard vegetation association has been hectares of native vegetation for the multiple disturbance; botanists from Mattiske mapped within the application area: purpose of petroleum production and retains basic Consulting (2011). associated infrastructure. Clearing is structure/ability to 378: Shrublands; scrub-heath with scattered for the construction of a new regenerate (Keighery, Banksia spp., Eucalyptus todtiana and workshop, accommodation camp 1994). Xylomelum angustifolium on deep sandy flats in upgrade, septic system upgrade and the Geraldton Sandplain Region (GIS vehicle weed hygiene wash down bay To: Database). at the Beharra Springs Gas Production Facility. The application area is Pristine: No obvious Mattiske Consulting Pty Ltd undertook a located approximately 31 kilometres signs of disturbance threatened and priority flora search over the south-east of Dongara. (Keighery, 1994). application area in July 2011 and identified one vegetation structural community. Vegetation will be cleared using a dozer, grader and other equipment as H4: Heath dominated by a mix of species required. Vegetation will be including Banksia telmatiaea , Regelia ciliata and stockpiled. Melaleuca seriata with occasional scrub or open scrub of Hakea obliqua subsp. parviflora on grey or brown sand on lower slopes, flats and drainage basins (Mattiske Consulting, 2011). 3. Assessment of application against clearing principles (a) Native vegetation should not be cleared if it comprises a high level of biological diversity. Comments Proposal is not likely to be at variance to this Principle The application area occurs within the Leseur Sandplain subregion of the Geraldton Sandplains Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia (IBRA) bioregion (GIS Database). This subregion contains shrub- heaths rich in endemics occurring on a mosaic of lateritic mesas, sandplains, coastal sands and limestones (CALM, 2002). The subregion exhibits extremely high floristic endemism and is also regarded as having particularly high floristic diversity (CALM, 2002). The vegetation within the application area is broadly mapped as Beard vegetation association 378, which has 64.1% of its pre-European vegetation extent remaining (Shepherd, 2009; GIS Database). Large scale structural vegetation mapping and flora surveying has previously been undertaken by botanists from Woodman Page 1 Environmental Consulting (WEC) over an area south of Beharra Springs and the application area (WEC, 2009). Botanists from Mattiske Consulting (2011) conducted a threatened flora search of the application area in July 2011 and described the vegetation present as corresponding to WEC’s structural community type H4. Structural community H4 was a dominant plant community in the WEC survey area and was widespread in the locality (WEC, 2009). No Declared Rare Flora, Threatened Ecological Communities or Priority Ecological Communities were recorded during the flora search undertaken by Mattiske Consulting (2011) or have previously been recorded within the application area (GIS Database). The original application area contained five locations of the Priority 2 flora species Schoenus sp. Eneabba with a total of approximately 30 individual plants (Mattiske Consulting, 2011). Advice from the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) stated Schoenus sp. Eneabba is known from approximately seven populations and there is very little information in regards to the size of the populations or the total number of plants for this species. The plants within the application area represent a new population and the taking of all plants at this location is considered significant to the conservation of the species (DEC, 2011a). DEC recommended that the south-east corner of the original application area be avoided so four of the five locations of Schoenus sp. Eneabba would not be impacted (DEC, 2011a). Following the DEC advice, Origin reduced their application area to exclude the south-east corner as recommended (Origin, 2011). There are now four known locations of the species outside the application area and the clearing is unlikely to result in the localised extinction of this population or significantly impact on the conservation of the species. The presence of introduced flora species was not recorded during the Mattiske Consulting flora survey except that no Declared Plant species, as listed by the Department of Agriculture and Food, were recorded within the application area (Mattiske Consulting, 2011). Care must be taken to ensure that the proposed clearing activities do not spread or introduce weed species to non-infested areas. Potential impacts to biodiversity as a result of the proposed clearing may be minimised by the implementation of a weed management condition. The fauna diversity of the application area is likely to be similar to that of the surrounding area. The fauna habitats provided by the vegetation in community type H4 are likely to occur throughout the Northern Sandplains area where this structural community occurs. There are no notable fauna habitat features within the application area that would encourage a higher level of faunal diversity compared to surrounding areas, such as wetlands, watercourses, ridges or hill tops (Mattiske Consulting, 2011; GIS Database). Although the application area occurs within a subregion and locality known for its high biodiversity, the vegetation type mapped within the application area is not of elevated conservation significance compared to other vegetation types of the Cooljarloo area (WEC, 2009). The application area is adjacent to the Beharra Springs Gas Production Facility and contains disturbance from existing access tracks and infrastructure (GIS Database). Origin have sought to reduce the impact of the clearing by utilising the existing access tracks as part of the application area (Origin, 2011). Based on the above, the proposed clearing is not likely to be at variance to this Principle. Methodology CALM (2002) DEC (2011a) Mattiske Consulting (2011) Origin (2011) Shepherd (2009) WEC (2009) GIS Database: - IBRA WA (Regions - Subregions) - Mingenew 1.4 m Orthomosaic - Landgate 2001 - Pre-European Vegetation - Threatened and Priority Flora - Threatened Ecological Sites Buffered (b) Native vegetation should not be cleared if it comprises the whole or a part of, or is necessary for the maintenance of, a significant habitat for fauna indigenous to Western Australia. Comments Proposal is not likely to be at variance to this Principle No targeted fauna surveys have been undertaken over the application area. The vegetation type identified within the application area, H4, is considered to be widespread in the Northern Sandplains area and not restricted to the surrounding area (WEC, 2009; Mattiske Consulting, 2011). Therefore, the fauna habitats that this vegetation type provides are not likely to be locally restricted. Nearby wetlands in the Dongara area provide significant habitat for bird species (Australian Heritage Database, 2011). However, the application area is not associated with a wetland (GIS Database) and therefore does not provide this potentially significant fauna habitat. The application area contains existing disturbance from previous access tracks and is adjacent to the Beharra Springs Gas Production Facility (Origin, 2011). This disturbance somewhat diminishes the quality of fauna habitat and its potential to be significant habitat for native fauna. Page 2 A search of the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities' (SEWPAC) Protected Matters Database and the Department of Environment and Conservation's (DEC) NatureMap Database using a 10 kilometre buffer revealed two Threatened, five Migratory and two Priority fauna species: • Australian Bustard ( Ardeotis australis ); • Carnaby's Black Cockatoo ( Calyptorhynchus latirostris ); • Cattle Egret ( Ardea ibis ); • Fork-tailed Swift ( Apus pacifcus ); • Great Egret ( Ardea alba ); • Malleefowl ( Leipoa ocellata ); • Rainbow Bee-eater ( Merops ornatus ); • Rufous Fieldwren ( Calamanthus campestris subsp. montanellus ); and • White-bellied Sea-Eagle ( Haliaeetus leucogaster ) (DEC, 2011b; SEWPAC, 2011). All of these bird species are highly mobile and/or widely distributed and while the application area may provide some foraging habitat for some of these species, it is unlikely to be core habitat. Given the relatively small size of the application area and its lack of notable habitat features, it is unlikely